Rockets humbled by Knights in opener

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BURLINGTON -- Anticipation for Burlington Central fans on hand for the Rockets season opener at home against Kaneland on Friday night ran so high that a line to get into the game started curling onto the street during the second quarter of the sophomore game.

But what the home crowd was greeted with was not what they waited for as the Knights turned a close game early into a 31-7 rout.

Kaneland has now won four straight against Central.

Led by a pair of sophomores -- quarterback Joe Camiliere and running back/wide receiver Blake Serpa -- the Knights' spread offense wreaked havoc on the Rockets' defense all night. Camiliere went finished 15-of-23 passing for 203 yards and three touchdowns, and also tallied 41 yards rushing.

Camiliere's top weapon, Serpa, had 84 yards receiving and 23 rushing.

"Scouting report-wise, we know what they do," Central coach Aaron Wichman said. "Nothing surprises us, but they're just really good at executing their plays. They do a really good job spreading us out and creating mismatches."

After a Knights' field goal made it 3-0 in the first quarter, the Rockets put together a seven-play, 52-yard drive that was capped off by a Nick Smith 11-yard touchdown run with 6:43 left in the second half. The sophomore had six carries for 38 yards in the first half, but was held to just four yards rushing in the second quarter.

"He's gonna be a pretty good back for us," Wichman said. "He's kind of a rhythm guy. Once he gets a few carries he's a guy that gets better and better."

Kaneland responded the very next drive with a 68-yard touchdown drive to go up 10-7. They were the first of 28 unanswered points.

"I was extremely pleased with our effort," Wichman said. "But we kind of just wore down a bit in the second half."

Central sophomore quarterback Tim Maroder's varsity debut didn't go as planned. Maroder threw one touchdown but also threw two interceptions as he hit on 2 of 6 passes for 34 yards.